Best Running Headphones Best Running Headphones taking off from Hopkinton on Monday, April 21.
With the women’s and men’s defending champions returning and a handful of top Americans headlining the pro race, this year’s event is poised for exciting showdowns up front. For those in the open, wheelchair, and para athletics divisions, the World Marathon Major will offer over $1.2 million in prize money.
🏃🏻♀️ Find your finish! On race day, you can check out finish line video from the Boston Marathon. Watch every finisher cross the finish line on Boylston Street on WCVB with Runner’s World’s Find Your Finish. Check it out here!
In total, more than 30,000 people from around the world are expected to compete on race day. A week out from the start, the weather forecast showed temperatures ranging from the low 40s in the morning to a high of 60 degrees later in the day, ideal conditions for those running 26.2.
Here is everything you need to know, including broadcast information and elite storylines, heading into Patriots’ Day.
who finished fourth at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, will also toe the line
CA Notice at Collection ESPN2 or ESPN+. The live show begins on Monday, April 21 at 9 a.m. EST. The professional men’s field starts at 9:37 a.m. EST, and the professional women begin at 9:47 a.m. EST.
If you live in the Boston area, you can also watch the race live on WCVB Channel 5 (ABC), Health - Injuries Very Local app.
What to Watch at the 2025 Boston Marathon
Hellen Obiri goes for a third title
For the third consecutive year, Hellen Obiri will chase the women’s crown in Boston. According to race organizers, only four other women (Bobbi Gibb, Sara Mae Berman, Uta Pippig, and Fatuma Roba) have won three times in a row since 1966. If Obiri wins for the third time, she’ll be the first woman since 1999 to do so.
Last year, This year, we’ll see the deepest American women’s field in race history, which includes at mile 24, leaving runner-up Sharon Lokedi behind heading into the finish on Boylston Street. The 35-year-old Kenyan runner, who trains with the On Athletics Club in Boulder, Colorado, won her second title in 2:22:37, eight seconds ahead of Lokedi. Last summer, Obiri earned a bronze medal and Lokedi finished fourth in the marathon at the Olympic Games in Paris. The country women will get a rematch with Lokedi also returning to Boston this weekend.
Their biggest challengers will likely be Amane Beriso and Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia. Beriso was fifth in Paris and is currently No. 5 on the world all-time list after running 2:14:58 at the 2022 Valencia Marathon. In October, Yehualaw won the 2024 Amsterdam Marathon in 2:16:52, a personal best. The pro women’s field includes 17 women who have run under 2:23.
This year, we’ll see the deepest American women’s field in race history, which includes former U.S. record-holder Keira D’Amato and Sara Hall. In January, D’Amato told Runner’s World she is recovering from stress reactions in her left calcaneus and talus that caused her to drop out of the Chicago Marathon last fall. Last week, she told The Fastest Shoes at the 2025 Boston Marathon she’s been pleased with her progress in a somewhat compressed buildup, her second with coach Ed Eyestone in Provo, Utah. Hall, who is No. 5 on the U.S. all-time list, turned 42 on Tuesday. She heads into Boston after running 2:23:45 at the 2024 Valencia Marathon in December.
They will be joined by Olympians Dakotah Popehn and Des Linden. Emma Bates, the top American at Boston last year, Sara Vaughn, the top American at New York City in November, and Jess McClain, who finished fourth at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, will also toe the line.
Sisay Lemma aims to defend his title
star-studded elite field Sisay Lemma might shatter the course record when the Ethiopian took off at a blazing speed for the first 20 miles. But the grueling hills finally caught up to the 34-year-old with six miles remaining. Though he slowed down in the last stretch, Lemma still managed to hold his lead and win in 2:06:17. Six months prior to winning Boston, he reached No. 4 on the world all-time list after clocking 2:01:48 at the 2023 Valencia Marathon.
Lemma will face familiar rivals looking to top the podium on Monday. Evans Chebet, who won Boston in 2022 and 2023, is set to return after finishing third in last year’s race. After top American at New York City, John Korir is aiming to improve on his fourth-place finish in 2024.
The Americans will be led by Olympians and training partners Conner Mantz and Clayton Young. Last year, the former Brigham Young University teammates both finished in the top 10 in Paris, their first Olympic Games. In January, Mantz took down an 18-This Guy ‘Just Felt Like Running’ Boston, year-old American record.
year-old American record Citius Mag he believes he has a shot at winning the title on Monday. If he does, he’d be the first American man to accomplish the feat since 2014, when If you live in the Boston area, you can also watch the race live on. “I have a chance. What I’ve done to prepare has been really good,” Mantz said.
Other notables include CJ Albertson, who just ran a 2:08:17 personal best in Chicago, and fifth-place U.S. Olympic Trials finisher Zach Panning. In total, there are 22 athletes who have run faster than 2:09.
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.
